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Manorham F.C.
Dwight Baugh | coach = | currentleague = League A | currentposition = | lastseason = | lastleague = League A | lastposition = 4th | current = | website = | firstgame = | largestwin = | worstdefeat = | topscorer = | fansgroup = | honours = | American = }} : "Manorham" redirects here. For the neighborhood, see Cape Wells. Manorham Football Club is a professional football club based in Cape Wells, St. Gregory. The team plays in League A of the St. Gregory Football Association. Manorham were part of the SGFA's first expansion in 1981, joining foundation club Cape Wells Wanderers as the second team from that city. The team plays its home games at the 23,000-seat Enterprise Stadium at Franklin Road. History Manorham began play in the SGFA's third season, 1981-82. The club did not have their own stadium at the time and so played their home matches at Wanderers Stadium, the home of their cross-town rivals, until 1986. The team struggled in their first two seasons, finishing last out of 8 teams both seasons before climbing to 6th in 1983-84 and 5th in 1984-85. The following year, with the SGFA expanding to two leagues and the acquisition of several key players, Manorham stunned the nation by becoming the first expansion club to win what had that year been renamed from the SGFA Championship to League A. Crest, colors and nickname Manorham's nickname is the Hammers, a reference to their name and an homage to West Ham United, from whom Manorham fans have taken inspiration with several of their traditions. The two clubs have since formed an alliance, which resulted in Manorham's crest undergoing a redesign in 2014 to incorporate Green Street House, featured on the crest of the English club. Kits Originally, the club's kits consisted of green and red vertical stripes with white shorts and red socks; however, in 1986-87, the club unveiled a shirt with a vertical split design, mimicking the crest. This design prevailed through Manorham's golden years in the late 80s and early 90s. A 10-year kit deal was signed with adidas in 2004. This resulted in more generic template-based designs and saw red relegated to a trim color on the shirts. In 2014, Manorham signed a new deal with Umbro, who will be the new supplier of the club's uniforms for the next 6 seasons. After receiving input from fans, Umbro announced that the home shirt would be returning to the popular vertical split red and green design. The shirt sponsor is Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Support Rivalries Manorham have rivalries with several clubs. The oldest and most passionate is with Cape Wells Wanderers, which is a local rivalry that has existed almost as long as professional football in the territory. Manorham entered the SGFA in 1981, only two years after the formation of what is now League A, and therefore two years after Wanderers, who were a foundation club. In the early years of the SGFA, when clubs consisted mainly of locally-sourced players, Manorham and Wanderers would compete for the same pool of players in Cape Wells, which often resulted in neighborhoods and sometimes even families being divided as the best players in the city chose one or the other. Manorham's second League A championship, in 1988-89, was also the first season in which Wanderers were relegated to League B. In the mid-1990s, a rivalry burgeoned between Manorham and Bonneville United which culminated in the two sides meeting in consecutive SGFA Cup finals: 1994 and 1995. Manorham won the first 3-0, with Andy Morton scoring the first (and only) hat-trick in a Cup final, while United won the rematch 1-0 on a Steve Stratton goal, which has been dubbed "the Stratton curse" by Manorham fans as the club are yet to win a top-flight trophy since. Players 'Current squad' : As of July 1, 2016 Note: Players without a flag are from St. Gregory. Players with an asterisk (*) are from outside the United States or its territories, or have represented a non-U.S. territory at international level, but hold either citizenship or permanent residency in the U.S. and thus do not count towards the league cap on foreign players. 'Retired numbers' : 12 - The fans (aka the 12th man) Out on loan Reserves and Academy :Further information: Manorham F.C. Reserves and Academy Former players :Further information: Category:Manorham F.C. players Honors * League A: 3 :1985-86, 1988-89, 1991-92 * SGFA Cup: 3 :1985-86, 1990-91, 1993-94 * SGFA Shield: 2 :1992, 1994 Category:Club pages Category:Manorham F.C.